When Pastors Made A Difference

I'm reading this new book by Stephen Johnson entitled The Ghost Map, about the cholera epidemic in London nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. I've been thinking about the book as I've been walking tonight. Certainly the most important person in getting the epidemic stopped was a physician by the name of John Snow. He was remarkable. He didn't take the conventional wisdom, but went ahead and tried to see the world clearly for himself. Even though the newspapers, the medical establishment and others were against him, he hung in there and continued to do his research and learned what was really causing the spread of cholera.

But it is not his story that I want to tell you, dear reader. Though you may not have heard of him, he is well known. I want to speak of another important "actor" in this drama - one less well known in our day and age. I want to tell you a little of the story of Rev. Henry Whitehead. He is the pastor at St. Luke's -- which is in the area where the cholera epidemic is most rapidly spreading. Rev. Whitehead visited people in their homes. He talked with them as the cholera epidemic was sweeping through the community and tried to make sense of it himself. He asked questions, he paid attention, and he didn't let his brain go to sleep. As the epidemic began to reach its peak and then diminish he heard of Dr. Snow's thoughts. He didn't thik they were right...but he thought that perhaps he should consider them. As he asked more questions he began to see that Dr. Snow was right -- the culprit had been water coming from the Broad Street Water Pump.

But now that Rev. Whitehead believed him he wondered how he could help the rest of the city see that Dr. Snow was right and thus be able to take appropriate preventive measures in the future. Rev. Whitehead was listened to on the important committees that were considering the cause and effect of what had happened. Though there was great skepticism about what Dr. Snow had deduced and proven (even though it was proven), it took Rev. Whitehead's recounting his experience and his observation to get the support of the majority of the committee.

Because he paid attention -- because he knew the people of his community -- because of that -- the cholera epidemic was stopped before it could greatly expand its reach beyond the horrible limits it made. And, perhaps more importantly, the city of London began to take preventative measures.

I thought of a conversation that I had with a friend, Mac Hamon, recently (another pastor). He asked -- where are we in really being able to be helpful to the common good? Where?

We don't know the people of our parishes well any more. We might know some of the people of our congregation -- but that larger notion of parish has shrunk. We also have had our understanding of what area(s) are "ours" to speak to are primarily that of the "spiritual" (as if God weren't concerned with every single corner of our life.

I was thinking about this as I read the Indianapolis Community Crime Prevention Task Force Report (click on it to download the report for yourself). There are a couple of clergy on the task force. But they don't seem to have done their homework (nor anyone else on that committee). The crime and violence in Indianapolis over this past year has raised a great concern. Yet the responses of the task force are trite, cynical and an inch deep.

They are trite in that they just repeat the conventional wisdom that has taken ahold of us these days. The report encourages the growth of mentoring programs. The problem with that is that there are more mentoring programs in Indianapolis right now than at any other time in our history. Yet, clearly our violence and crime problems are not all right. Other social programs are encouraged as well -- day care, after school care, etc...

They are cynical in that they recommend steps that they have no authority or responsibility to see implemented. The things they recommend are not on the face of themselves "bad" -- in fact quite the opposite -- and yet no one is actually likely to do them, because of the report of this task force. And that, I'm afraid, is quite cynical.

Finally, their report is only an inch deep (if that) -- there is no critique offered of things like the mentoring programs or school based programs. There seems to be little or no actual experience with the victims and perpetrators of these crimes, beyond only the most surface. There is no gathering of facts and/or data at all, that they might use to bolster their empty ideas.

Pastors use to make a difference. We knew our communities. What we didn't know we knew how to gather data to find out. We used common sense. Now we are quicker to type up a blog than sit down with our neighbor (let me indict myself along with anyone else).

The concerns of pastors, are the concerns of our communities. Churches all too often act like they are islands having nothing to do with or no connection to their communities. If they church grows or shrinks it is due to the spiritual dynamic in the congregation rather than anything to do with the demographics. No wonder we have problems these days with science and religion. Religion has scooted over and is no longer willing to sit too close to science. That is our arrogance (this is not to say that science doesn't have an arrogance all its own).

We need -- the city, the state, and the nation needs -- pastors who are citizens of the community -- who help us see the real lives in and real life of our communities.

I'm searching for a way forward. Maybe the Ghost Map can help.